There are many examples of remote control systems which have become commonplace in our times, for television sets, video cassette recorders, hi-fi equipments, lights, etc. There are already being marketed systems which allow the various transmission functions to be combined in a single unit. An unresolved problem, however, is how to insure that the infrared transmission reaches all of the remote units which are to be controlled by the single transmitter.
An example is a hotel room in which a guest might be provided with a central console, typically on a night table between two beds, or on a table which is next to at least a single bed. That console might include a phone, a clock, a radio, remote controls for a television receiver, remote controls for lights, remote controls for air conditioning, etc. The provision of a single console which could control all of these functions and others, with remote control being facilitated by infrared transmission, would simplify system installation. This is especially true in retrofit applications where it is highly desirable to avoid the need to rewire a room. The basic problem, however, is that conventional infrared transmitters generally transmit in a relatively well-defined direction. In an ordinary hotel room, it is not possible to position all of the remote devices which are to be controlled along the same line of sight. There are often light switches, for example, which are near the entrance and which cannot even be seen from the bed. Moreover, it would be highly advantageous to provide a console which could swivel on its base so that it could be moved by a guest as he sits on his bed, for example, while calling room service or making a telephone call; in case the guest does not return the console to its original position, the direction of the infrared transmission might change drastically.